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Acute lower respiratory infection risk reduced with BCG vaccination
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Acute lower respiratory infection risk was reduced in children vaccinated with bacille Calmette-Guerin, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
“Protection was amplified if children were co-vaccinated against [diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis], with order of vaccine administration playing a central role in the magnitude of this effect,” the researchers wrote. “Although number of DTaP doses did not modify the effectiveness of [bacille Calmette-Guerin against suspected [acute lower respiratory infection], increased reactivity to both tuberculin and DTaP antigens after BCG vaccination has been shown in other studies.”
Maria-GraciellaHollm-Delgado, PhD, and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, evaluated data from the Macro International Demographic and Health Surveys and the United Nations Children’s Fund Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to determine if vaccination with bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) affects the risk of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in children aged 5 years or younger.
There was a 17% to 37% reduction for the risk of ALRI when patients were vaccinated with BCG. However, DTaP modified the effect of BCG (P<.001). The sequence in which the vaccines were received was central to the phenomena, but number of DTaP doses received was not.
Vaccine strain used in immuization programs, chlorinated drinking water, using wood-burning fuel cook stoves, and owning livestock were other modifers.
“Our study supports the association of BCG vaccination with ALRI and suggests DTaP vaccination may play a key role in amplifying this effect,” the researchers wrote. “Additional research is needed to clarify biological mechanisms underlying the association between BCG and suspected ALRI, including a more detailed examination of BCG’s effect of specific types of suspected ALRI and whether risk reductions in tuberculosis may be contributing to this effect.”
Disclosure: Hollm-Delgado reports receiving a Fonds de la Recherche du Quebec en Sante Post-Doctoral Training Award.
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